[Fronzie]

Leaded gasoline has been a former experiment in population-wide reduction of intelligence and increase of aggressiveness. Supposedly that affected that 80's, but I am not aware of systematic studies on that.

[jacquesm]

Lots of links starting from here:

https://theconversation.com/a-century-of-tragedy-how-the-car...

[asah]

thx! TIL leaded gasoline was phased out in the 1970s primarily because it clogged catalytic converters needed to end smog, not because of health reasons!

(smog used to be terrible - I lived through the latter half of that period, am I can't even relate to how awful it used to be... friends and I remember walking in midtown Manhattan, blowing our noses and it being black... I can't even imagine pre-1980 let alone pre-1970... https://timeline.com/la-smog-pollution-4ca4bc0cc95d )

[DoingIsLearning]

> leaded gasoline was phased out in the 1970s

... In automobiles.

Lead is very much in use for aircraft fuel, just google AVGAS.

[andrepd]

It's absolutely bonkers to me that recreational fliers can still rain toxic lead on people below.

[avgcorrection]

And yet the US didn’t seem to crash and burn? HN is preoccupied with intelligence to the point of hysteria.

[skinnymuch]

I enjoyed seeing your other comment[s] in this mess of a thread. Good luck!